Dr Frankenstein's Sound Lab--updated

[DunedinDragon]

I thought some of you folks might get a kick out of this.  This is my new, updated setup at home for dialing in, testing, gain staging presets for live use.  Pretty much what I've had for a few years, but I added a QSC K10.2 in place of my CP8 floor monitor.  The Sideboard keeps all my accessory components and cabling in one place to simplify setup so it takes about 10 minutes to load in and setup for performances.  The BeatBuddy is controlled from the Helix via MIDI and is synchronized with my presets so I never have to touch anything on the Sideboard during live gigs.  The Yamaha DXR-12  allows me to hear exactly what the audience will hear, and my new K10.2 allows me to get my personal stage mix dialed in the way I want it, and I can switch between the two easily with the mixing board using my actual live setup.  A very handy way to get everything right for performances.

 

[brue58ski]

So how loud do you have it and how far away from the Yamaha are you when you dial things in?

[DunedinDragon]

51 minutes ago, brue58ski said:

So how loud do you have it and how far away from the Yamaha are you when you dial things in?

 

I'm generally in the range of 90dbSPL when I'm dialing in my presets or rehearsing and I tend to stand about six or seven feet away from the speakers.  The K10.2 is usually on the floor under the workbench rather than sitting on the chair as in the picture.  I typically don't use both speakers at the same time.  The DXR12 is on the Main output of the mixer and the K10.2 is on the Aux2 output of the mixer so I typically switch between them.  This just lets me hear it from the on stage perspective or from the audience perspective.

[codamedia]

On 6/2/2021 at 7:25 AM, DunedinDragon said:

I'm generally in the range of 90dbSPL when I'm dialing in my presets or rehearsing and I tend to stand about six or seven feet away from the speakers. 

 

It's similar for me.... 85db - 90db when dialing in presets, and for practicing tunes I need to play live. My side of a stage measures around 95db... so it gets me really comfortable playing at the levels required and of course removes Mr Fletcher and Mr Munson from the equations :) 

[DunedinDragon]

1 hour ago, codamedia said:

 

It's similar for me.... 85db - 90db when dialing in presets, and for practicing tunes I need to play live. My side of a stage measures around 95db... so it gets me really comfortable playing at the levels required and of course removes Mr Fletcher and Mr Munson from the equations :) 

 

What's been very interesting in this journey with the Helix over the last six years, is I'm not sure I ever expected it to result in the level of technical capabilities that you can take advantage of to completely re-imagine the way a band works.  There was some of that with the HD500X, but it's kind of deceiving because with the Helix the range of capabilities is hidden behind a relatively simple workflow and interface.  Of course it's not just the Helix but it's also the general advancement in all other supporting live performance products.  Once you begin to overcome your natural aversion to doing things differently from how you've done things in the past, it becomes a whole new ball game for creating consistent live performances that can rival large and expensive concert production quality.  It takes a bit more planning and execution up front, but if the entire band buys into it, the results can be incredible.

I feel incredibly blessed to have been able to live long enough to experience this transition given the number of old rock and rollers that haven't make it this long.

[Hillman1312]

This is very interesting, thanks for sharing !!!

What goes into the mixer, the XLR or the 1/4" jacks? 

And, do you also use the mixer to control what's being sent to FOH, or do they get an XLR directly from the Helix and you use the mixer only for your monitor and/or onstage Yamaha speaker?

 

 

 

 

[DunedinDragon]

1 hour ago, Hillman1312 said:

This is very interesting, thanks for sharing !!!

What goes into the mixer, the XLR or the 1/4" jacks? 

And, do you also use the mixer to control what's being sent to FOH, or do they get an XLR directly from the Helix and you use the mixer only for your monitor and/or onstage Yamaha speaker?

 

 

 

 

It's really a very straightforward setup.  The mixer in the picture is the actual mixer we use for the PA which consists of the QSC TM-30 mixer, 2 Yamaha DXR12 main FOH speakers, 2 DXR12 stage monitors and the one QSC K10.2 stage monitor.  We also have an additional DXR12 stage monitor that we use on some songs when we incorporate 3 additional backup singers.  We have no amps on stage and all connections to the mixer are XLR connections through preamp devices such as the Helix or specialized preamps/modelers for bass or acoustic guitar along with an XLR connection for the BeatBuddy (controlled through the Helix) along with 4 mics for band member vocals and an addition 3 mics for backup singers when we use them.  We monitor solely through the stage monitors fed from the mixer and each of the stage monitors has it's own individualized mix depending on what part of the stage it's serving.  I personally use the K10.2 as my stage monitor.